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FIA single-seater director Nikolas Tombazis said the governing body needs to look at improving its ADUO performance-balancing system, despite insisting its first checkpoint measurement was âvery accurateâ, after Red Bull were surprised to be rated as having the best internal combustion engine. Tombazis said: "I think our measurement, in my opinion, has proven to be very accurate. With that said, has everything worked fine? No, because obviously people are not happy and so on. Do we need to think about improvements in the future? Yes, I would say so."
Lewis Hamilton says he is âcompletelyâ upset that the 2026 style of racing has diminished the challenge at circuits such as Suzuka, Silverstone and Spa, leaving him missing the âpressureâ thrill of wheel-to-wheel combat. Hamilton said: "No, it completely upsets me. These are the tracks that I look forward to. Monaco is a stunning place and an amazing track for a qualifying lap, no matter what car you drive. But it is the least enjoyable race because you can't overtake. My excitement is not qualifying; it is racing⌠battling with people and wheel-to-wheel racing⌠the pressure, defending and all that kind of stuff."
Stefano Domenicali says it is his âdutyâ to do what is best for Formula 1 after drivers openly criticised the sportâs new technical regulations. Domenicali said: "We are not here to put tape on the mouth of anyone. I mean, the beauty of a sport is that everyone can have an opinion, but the opinion is an opinion. There is someone who has the duty to have a line... But I have the duty to make a summary of what is best for the sport."
Max Verstappen says he does not feel any âextra motivationâ for the upcoming Dutch Grand Prix, despite it being Zandvoortâs last Formula 1 race for the foreseeable future. Verstappen said: "I never have any extra motivation because that would be bad. Then it means I'm not motivated enough for the other ones to do well, so I always just want to do a good job. I love driving there."
Lando Norris says he feels he is doing a better job in 2026 than he did during his title-winning campaign last season, even though he believes the results have not reflected that progress. Norris said: "Honestly, although it kind of hurts me saying it because it doesn't mean that you just win, I feel like I'm doing a better job this year than I was last year, and I have done for a little while. I've said that for a while. It just doesn't mean you win the races."
McLaren team principal Andrea Stella says the team has a âdutyâ to keep pushing for more wins for the rest of the season after its upgrade package helped it end its 2026 victory drought at the Hungarian Grand Prix. Andrea Stella said: "There are still 12 races left on the calendar, so there are plenty of opportunities given that 546 points are up for grabs. Of course, the gap in both championships is significant, but we remember last year's lesson well: if we've set up a new display cabinet to house the new, recent trophies at the McLaren Technology Centre, then we have a duty to do our utmost to keep filling itâŚ"
Laurent Mekies says Red Bullâs key area for improvement in the second half of the season is consistently giving Max Verstappen and Isack Hadjar a car with a good balance. Mekies said: "I'm not really convinced that it is linked to a package or something else. We have been struggling to give the drivers the car they could have a good balance with. Nonetheless, because it's Max, because it's Isack, they very often manage to extract the performance anyway. So I think it's about the consistency of the delivery of performance... and it's probably where some of the potential improvement is in the second part of the year."
Red Bull driver Isack Hadjar says he needs to improve his race pace in the second half of the season to match team-mate Max Verstappen. Hadjar said: "I would say Max that has been very impressive on Sundays, all around. I think my one-lap pace has been pretty good, but how well he is managing the races is on a different level. That's what I'm focusing on and working on."
Charles Leclerc says drivers have to stay âopen-mindedâ with Formula 1âs new 2026 cars because there are so many variables that it can be difficult to understand what is making the difference in performance. Leclerc said: "I think you've got to be very open-minded. I don't think that it's black and white so much with these cars. There are many different variables, and to understand the full implications when you are a little bit off is a lot more difficult than it seems. I don't particularly agree that being super aggressive with these cars works, at least not with our car, but it might do for another car."
Flavio Briatore says Formula 1 needs a âmuch strongerâ cost cap that includes spending currently outside the limit, including driver salaries, to give smaller teams a better chance of competing. Briatore said: "We have a budget gap, but we need to do something stronger. Because whilst the budget cap was a very good idea, at a certain point we need to make the budget cap much stronger, and we need to include the drivers. We need to include a lot of stuff that is outside the budget cap at the moment to give the smaller teams the possibility to compete."
Cadillac CEO Dan Towriss says the decision to replace Graeme Lowdon as team principal was months in the making, even though Lowdon was only told on the morning of the announcement, with Marcin Budkowski confirmed as his successor. Towriss said: "It was my decision. It wasn't a mutual decision. Really, the process started a few months ago, to explore really thinking about what the next phase for Cadillac Formula 1 looks like. So Graeme and I spoke this morning. It is a very recent conversation from that perspective, but there's no easy way to make this transition within Formula 1... It becomes destabilising at that point... it makes it feel more abrupt than it would be otherwise."
Oscar Piastri says his 2026 season has brought âmore lows than highsâ, with the McLaren driver admitting the team have not had the first half of the year they wanted. Piastri said: "There have been highs and lows, for sure. Probably more lows than highs, unfortunately. For us as a team, it's obviously not been the first half of the year that we would have liked, especially compared to last year. Hopefully the second half of the year can be better."
Oliver Bearman says Haasâ struggles this season have meant it is ânot always a fair fightâ, as he pointed to inconsistency between parts and unexpected changes in car balance. Bearman said: "We've been speaking about it a lot, but the inconsistency between our parts has been quite high. It's a shame because it means that you're always chasing a moving target. Overnight, we can have changes to our car balance without expecting that. It's not always a fair fight, the one that we are having, and sometimes we feel like we're fighting with our hands almost tied behind our backs."
Arvid Lindblad says his rookie Formula 1 season with Racing Bulls has exceeded expectations and feels like he is âliving my dreamâ as he reflects on the first half of 2026. Lindblad said: "Definitely 'and more'. It feels like I've had many nice moments, even in such a short span of time. The team have been amazing, they've been really welcoming, and they've really helped me get up to speed. I've been quite vocal about it, but I've been living my dream this year. It's something that I always dreamed would come true, so it's been very fun, and very special."
Valtteri Bottas says Cadillac have already made âclearâ progress in their maiden Formula 1 season, despite early reliability issues and the team still waiting for its first point. Bottas said: "We knew there were going to be challenges. There have been a few races that we haven't finished with technical issues. I knew that we could improve throughout the year â we can see we have done. We've been able to pick up the pace [and] we've been able to get the car more reliable. How the team operates, we're getting better and better. It's been a great journey so far, but there's still a lot of work to do."
McLaren technical director â engineering Neil Houldey said the team expects to run a longer wheelbase on its 2027 car after opting for a shorter design this season to help meet the new minimum weight limit. Houldey said: "We put a shorter car together because it's lighter, and we knew that the regulations on weight were going to be a big, big challenge. For next year we'll end up with a longer car because aerodynamically you give yourself a little bit more plan area on the floor. Do we think the wheelbase is a game changer? Absolutely not. It's small stuff, but when you're looking for small stuff everywhere, you take it."
Red Bull technical director Pierre Wache says the team is seeing âa different problem every timeâ it runs its new car, leaving it with âno confidenceâ as rivals close in. Pierre Wache said: "The other competitors have improved a lot since Monaco. With this new car, you see a different problem every time you go to the track, when you put the car on the ground. We try to maximise it, but no confidence."
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